Electric vehicles having a battery that provides power to a traction motor may be hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) or battery electric vehicles (BEV). High voltage batteries provide increased range that is desirable, particularly for BEVs. High voltage batteries require a large number of battery cells to obtain, for example, an output of 400 amps at 330 volts. The increased number of cells increases the space requirements for the battery.
One way to accommodate the increased size of the battery is to assemble the battery to the vehicle with an upper part of the battery inside the vehicle and a lower part of the battery outside the vehicle below the floor of the battery compartment. With this arrangement, the wiring harness for the vehicle must be routed through the floor of the vehicle. The upper and lower parts of the battery must be cabled together.
In addition, high voltage cables must be connected to the traction motor and the charge receptacle. It is a challenge to package the high voltage cables within the vehicle while providing a cable to the traction motor away from surrounding components in the motor compartment and underbody components. In addition, any parts of the high voltage cables that pass through the passenger compartment must be shielded and any reduction of the space available in the passenger compartment must be minimized.
This disclosure is directed to the above challenges and other challenges as summarized below.